by Mary Leo
The two women hugged. “You do what you think is best, but he had a lot of friends in this town. You might want to reconsider. Now, I have to run. Let me know.”
And she dashed off, leaving RuthieAnn to second guess her own convictions. She’d never even considered an actual funeral for her dad. The bastard didn’t deserve one.
But she didn’t have to make up her mind now. David O’Malley, from O’Malley’s Funeral Home in Wild Creek, had told her she had a few days to decide what to do with the body. Right now, all she wanted to do was make sure Jayden was happy.
She loved watching Chase and Jayden together—tall and slender Chase holding onto Jayden’s delicate little hand. Taking it slow, leaning over and telling Jaden about what it will be like to ride Midnight Shadow, giving him subtle instructions and Jayden nodding every now and then, trying his best to understand. She hoped he did or the ride could turn into a true nightmare.
But she wasn’t going to think the worst right now. Instead, she would focus on how well her son was taking to this new environment, how well he was adjusting to ranch life, and how she truly wished she could somehow fit more of this into their lives when they returned home. After all, Vegas was home to the rodeo Nationals every year, so there had to be a lot of ranches and cowboys living in and around Sin City. She just needed to find them.
When they arrived in the barn, Chase’s brother, Hunter, already had Midnight Shadow saddled up and ready to go. He held a child’s helmet and informed Jayden that in order to ride, he’d have to wear it.
“Besides, it’s really cool,” Hunter said as he squatted down to Jayden’s level.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Jayden allowed him to secure the black riding helmet on his head, strapping it firmly under Jayden’s chin. She’d never seen her child so willing to cooperate in his entire life.
“Wow, you look great, Jayden,” Chase said, grinning back at the little guy who stared up at him, his little face beaming with pride. “How does it feel?”
Jayden swept his hands and arms over the top of his helmet. “Good,” he said, smiling.
“Great. Then I think we’re ready,” Chase told him, then nodded over at RuthieAnn.
“All set,” she told him, but her stomach was in a knot. This was the first time Jayden would be on a full-grown horse, and as she watched Chase mount Midnight Shadow and then Hunter help settle her son in front of Chase, she thought for sure Jayden would protest or cry or at the very least look scared. Instead, his grin couldn’t be wider, and as Chase gave him a few instructions, he listened intently, as if he really wanted to learn to do everything right.
RuthieAnn’s emotions were right there on her sleeve as she watched her baby really try to do his best.
Hunter had also saddled up another horse, and RuthieAnn figured he would be joining Chase and Jayden and she’d spend the next hour or so in the house with Catherine. Which was fine, but there was a small part of her that wished she could join them on the trail, especially since that saddled other horse was Miss Pie. Not that she even knew if she could remember how to ride, but still the possibility excited her. She remembered riding with her parents. She couldn’t really remember much of it, but the elusive memory seemed like a good one . . . which were few.
“I’ve saddled Miss Pie for you, RuthieAnn, if you’d like to join Chase. She’s as gentle as a kitten, and loves a slow walk early in the morning,” Hunter said, walking the majestic mare over to where RuthieAnn stood. “I think you’ll enjoy her.”
“We’ve already met, and she’s a sweetheart, but . . . Oh, I don’t think . . . I mean, I couldn’t.” At first, RuthieAnn wanted no part of getting on a horse. After all, she couldn’t even remember exactly the last time she rode. Did she even still remember how? The whole thing scared her, but then watching her brave son sitting up with Chase looking scared but thrilled, RuthieAnn knew she had no choice in the matter. She had to join them.
“As gentle as a kitten, huh?”
“Even more so. Plus, she knows what to do and where to go. All she needs is a little coaxing and she’ll do whatever you want,” Hunter told her.
Hunter was a bit shorter than Chase, and a little heavier. A friendly cowboy with a great smile, a full short beard, and light brown, almost blond hair under a deep brown cowboy hat. She’d liked Hunter right from the start, when he’d first opened the door to the Cooper ranch house. He’d made her feel welcome, and now he made her feel as though she might just be able to ride.
“You said you used to ride,” Chase urged. “Now’s your chance to brush up on your skills.”
Fortunately, she’d worn the jeans and tee Pearl had provided and along with her own boots, she had no excuse other than abject fear for getting up on that horse. She took in a deep calming breath and slowly let it out.
“Fine,” she said, “but I don’t know if I can remember anything.”
“No worries. Miss Pie knows exactly what to do. All you have to do is keep your butt in the saddle,” Chase teased.
“Go. Go,” Jayden said, obviously anxious to get moving.
“I think I can do that much,” she said, trying to convince herself more than anyone else.
“Go easy on me, Miss Pie,” RuthieAnn whispered to the sweet mare as she grabbed the horn and the reins and patted Miss Pie. For her part, Miss Pie bounced her head a couple of times, causing RuthieAnn to snicker.
“I can do this,” she told herself. Then, as if she’d been riding every day for the last ten years, in one easy movement, RuthieAnn mounted the horse and guided her around so she could easily follow behind Chase and Jayden, who were already leaving the barn.
“You’re a natural,” Hunter said, looking up at her as he adjusted the stirrups to fit.
“That’s yet to be seen,” she said as Miss Pie picked up the pace to catch up to Midnight Shadow. RuthieAnn bounced in the saddle.
“Oh yeah,” she said as she tried not to slam her bottom into the saddle. “A real natural.”
Eight
Once Chase saw how distraught Jayden was that morning, he decided his questions for RuthieAnn could wait. Nothing was more important than soothing Jayden.
By concentrating on Jayden’s needs instead of his own, he was learning how to step outside of his own shit. A theory his doctors had suggested he practice time and again, but because of his own mule-headed thinking, he could never give it a whirl.
Still, everything was coming at him so fast his emotions were spinning in ten different directions at once. One minute he found himself falling hard for RuthieAnn, and in the next, he suspected that she was the girl who left him on the side of the road, that his dreams were essentially snippets of memories.
Either way, his next move seemed ominous for everyone concerned, especially Jayden, who was the innocent victim in all of this.
No matter what he chose to believe, to act on, he would have to consider Jayden. He was a sweet kid caught up in the crosshairs of a complicated affair.
“We could rest for a spell if you’d like,” Chase said to RuthieAnn, his cowboy-speak slipping out displaying where his mind lurked—safely hidden on a trail. She rode next to him. “There’s a pretty little meadow right up ahead, and if I know my mom, there’s a picnic brunch in my saddlebags, along with this blanket role perched behind me.”
They’d only been riding for less than twenty minutes, but Chase knew both Jayden and RuthieAnn needed a break.
“Sounds good,” RuthieAnn immediately said. She looked a little saddle-weary, as if she could use a nice long soak in a warm tub. The vision set his mind on fire.
He instead focused on Jayden and the meadow.
Jayden didn’t balk when Chase slipped him down off of Midnight Shadow, and he went right for his mom, who had already dismounted. He gave her a quick hug, then took her hand.
“You did so good, Jayden,” RuthieAnn told him. He threw her a wide grin as he gave her another hug. Those sweet little arms of his wrapped around her neck as she bent down to meet the
m.
“Good,” he repeated. “Good. Good. Good.”
“Do we have to tie up the horses somewhere?” RuthieAnn asked as she stood, still holding onto the reins.
“Nope. They won’t stray. Besides, they love the tall grass around this meadow.”
RuthieAnn secured the reins around the saddle horn, then helped Chase with the blanket.
Within minutes, Chase had the blanket down on a level, low grass area. Even at this time of year, tall grass and wildflowers encircled the meadow, making it the perfect place for a picnic. Despite Chase’s determination to focus on Jayden, every time he gazed over at RuthieAnn, he couldn’t shut out the memories of the previous night that had stayed with him like a warm breeze in spring.
All he knew at the moment was that he had to keep everything together for Jayden’s sake. Still, his thoughts were so jumbled up they were reaching the boiling point and unless he took the lid off, he was going to blow what could possibly be the best thing that ever happened to him.
He took a deep breath and let it out as a soft breeze erased some of his distress. He just hoped he could somehow get her alone later that day or the next to ask her a few questions. He was sure once they talked, everything would get sorted out quickly, and he could ignore the crazy dreams he’d been having. ‘Til then, he would have to bide his time and instead try to keep his promise to Clark . . . to protect his girl.
Chase emptied the saddlebags of several different croissant sandwiches of what looked like scrambled eggs or cheese or cheese and ham. There were even a few berry muffins, a thermos of coffee, milk for Jayden and a couple of bottles of water along with napkins, plates, and utensils. His mom, as usual, had thought of everything. He figured she’d gone into town to On The Rise bakery that morning. She liked to be prepared for anyone who stepped into her house. No one would go hungry on the Cooper Ranch.
“This looks so good,” RuthieAnn said, while Jayden went off to smell and pick the wildflowers. “I’m really hungry.”
“My mom likes to make everyone feel at home,” Chase told her. “Please, help yourself.”
RuthieAnn took a croissant filled with eggs, put it on her plate, then cut it in half, putting the other half on a plate for Jayden. She added half of a blueberry muffin to his plate, cut in chunks. “You’re lucky, Chase. I would’ve given anything to have a family like yours when I was growing up. You’ve all been so gracious to my boy and me. I don’t know how to thank you.”
“We just want to help you get through this, that’s all. Believe me, I know how tough it can be.”
“Pearl told me about your dad’s passing. I’m so sorry.”
She took a big bite out of her sandwich. Chase loved watching her eat when she was calm and hungry. For such a tiny thing, her appetite could rival any trail cowboy’s.
“Thanks. It’s been rough, especially on my mom. I’m sure you heard about the whole Chuck Starr thing,” he told her.
“Just enough to make me curious, but if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine. I think I remember your dad, a tall guy with an easy smile and a friendly personality. He paid for my lunch once when I was short on money. Saved me from being embarrassed with my friends. Clark had taken my lunch money out of my purse for booze, no doubt. He did that a lot, until I started stealing it out of his wallet and hiding it in my room. Anyway, your dad saved my butt that day.”
“That was my dad. He liked everybody and everybody liked him.”
“Except maybe Chuck Starr. Nobody liked him. Is he still around?”
Like his dad, Chase had a running dislike of Chuck Starr, even more now that he’d learned that Chuck was Reese’s bio dad. Chase had gotten used to the idea, but that still didn’t make it any better. He had to give Avery credit. She was systematically stripping Chuck of everything he’d accomplished over the years. There was even a rumor that she was going after his ranch house. Now that would be something to see. Even Chase wanted to be there to see Chuck’s face if that ever happened.
“Chuck is reaping what he sowed.”
Jayden walked over, carrying a small bouquet in his hand. He gave them to RuthieAnn. “Thank you so much, sweetheart. Would you like something to eat? I have a cherry muffin for you, and a scrambled egg sandwich. They’re both yummy.” She pulled a baby wipe out of her purse, and quickly wiped his hands before he plopped down on the blanket, grabbed the sandwich off the plate and took a big bite.
Jayden sat in silence and eagerly ate his food. He seemed to have the same appetite as his mom. Chase flashed on his own appetite when he was a kid. His mom had to bribe him to eat or threaten to keep him inside for the day. He was a horribly picky eater so he could appreciate Jayden’s hearty attack on his food.
“I have no idea why Chuck never got my dad’s land. I mean, he practically owns this entire valley.”
“Not anymore. Ever since my brother’s fiancée, Avery Templeton, also your dad’s lawyer, realized what Chuck and her dad had done with her mom, she’s been systematically dismantling his empire, beginning with returning land to ranchers who’d been swindled by Starr Enterprises.”
“Do you know why he never added my dad’s land to his quest?”
Chase couldn’t help but chuckle when he thought about Clark and Chuck Starr. “Your dad had a theory. He said that nobody likes to do business with a drunk, and as long as he stayed drunk, Chuck Starr never bothered him.”
RuthieAnn actually laughed out loud at that one, which caused Chase to relax a bit. He’d been uptight about seeing her this morning, even though he wanted nothing more than to spend time with her. After what they’d shared the previous night, he wanted to spend every night with her for as long as he could.
“Apparently, not only could he play the Good Samaritan, but he also knew how to keep his land intact. Not bad for the town drunk.”
“I wouldn’t quite categorize him that way.” Chase balked. He hated that she had such a bad opinion of Clark, but then he could understand it. There was hardly a time in RuthieAnn’s life when Clark wasn’t drunk.
“No? What would you call his daily drinking, then?”
“Sad. Lonely. A tortured life. Did you ever wonder if your dad was hiding something behind all that drinking?”
Chase had heard stories about Clark before he started drinking, and most of them were really good: how he worked hard on his ranch, how he raised some of the best workhorses in all of Arizona, how he contributed to the town, was a damn good carpenter, had volunteered to help build several barns for other ranchers in need, and how much he loved his wife and kids. Unfortunately, RuthieAnn never saw any of those things, and if she had, she couldn’t remember.
“The only thing he was hiding was where he got the money for all that booze, because Kevin and I never saw him work a day in his life. At least our mom held down a part-time job at a diner, but I don’t think I ever remember Clark working.”
“There’s where you’re wrong. Clark was a carpenter, a really good carpenter. I believe he built your house. Even did some work on our place. Added a staircase, made a couple built-in bookcases, and I think he even built all the original cabinetry in our kitchen. Of course, my mom changed it all out over the summer once our land started making money. She finally has the kitchen she always wanted. But your dad was a fine carpenter, mighty fine.”
“Are you sure about this?”
“Yep. Just ask around. Ask sweet Sally over at Around The Bend tavern.”
“My mom’s favorite hangout and where she died.”
Chase didn’t mean to bring up RuthieAnn’s mom. He knew her death was a tragic accident. He remembered hearing about it when it happened, and how his parents had gone to the funeral and wept. Too bad he didn’t remember all of this before he opened his big mouth about Around The Bend to RuthieAnn. “I’d forgotten about that part.”
“I haven’t.”
“Well, anyway, sweet Sally told me your dad built your house.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
/> “It’s true. I’ll take you over to the tavern one of these nights and you can ask her yourself. She knows a lot of the history of Wild Creek. She was born here. She’s one of our oldest residents. I think she turns eighty-five this year.”
“I don’t know if I can walk into that tavern. Too many memories . . . bad memories.”
“Then maybe you can ask her at Clark’s wake. By the way, I’d be happy to help with all of that. Not a problem at all, so please don’t hesitate to ask. It would be my honor to help.”
RuthieAnn finished her sandwich and helped Jayden finish up his muffin. Then she held his milk for him while he drank it from a straw. When he was finished, he let her wipe his hands and mouth, then he ran off to pick more flowers.
“You’re the second person who asked about a wake for Clark. I never intended to have one.”
She began stacking the empty plates as if she was suddenly in a hurry to leave. But Chase wasn’t ready to leave just yet. He wanted to spend more time with her . . . with Jayden.
“Why not? He has a lot of friends in this town who would want to pay their last respects.”
“Where were these so-called friends when I was growing up in squalor?”
Chase held a paper bag open for all the waste as RuthieAnn slammed napkins and the plates inside. He could tell the conversation was agitating her. He hadn’t meant for that to happen.
“Minding their own business, I suppose. Your dad never liked to ask for a handout or a favor. Too proud, I suppose.”
“But Kevin and I needed a handout. We needed help and no one was there for us.”
“Can’t expect anyone to help if you don’t ask. Did you ever ask for help?”
She stopped cleaning and sat back. “No. Never thought of asking. Okay, so maybe we were all too proud, I guess.”
“I think that comes from Clark or maybe your mom. I don’t remember her, but from what sweet Sally told me, your mom was a proud woman.”
“Oh yeah, real proud. That’s why she slept with almost every guy in town, and was drunk all the time.”
